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Freescale Semiconductor has introduced the Kinetis KL02 microcontroller, a chip small enough to be digested by humans for biodevice applications, this article notes. Based on an ARM Holdings design, the chip is meant for use in the Internet of Things, according to Freescale's Steve Tateosian.

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Freescale Semiconductor has introduced the KL02 wireless microcontroller, a device with onboard random-access memory that could be swallowed by people to monitor their health. "The Internet of things is ultimately about services, like your thermostat connecting to the Internet and knowing when you're coming home, but the technology those [services] are based on is embedded processing and sensors," Freescale's Kaivan Karimi said.

Texas Instruments has developed an ARM-based microcontroller with embedded flash memory, fabricated with a 65-nanometer process, for electronic braking control in Continental's MK 100 line. Continental and TI collaborated on design and development of the chip, which will go into electronic stability control systems for automotive vehicles.

Toshiba Electronics has introduced the TMPM376 microcontroller for applications in motor control, which has 512 KB of internal read-only memory and 32 KB of internal random-access memory. The MCU is based on the 32-bit Cortex-M3 processor design from ARM Holdings.

The Cortex-M0+ 32-bit microcontroller design unveiled Tuesday by ARM Holdings uses significantly less power than 8-bit and 16-bit MCUs, the company says, and can operate for years without recharging its power source. The highly energy-efficient chip is expected to find its way into many applications, such as appliances, lighting and automobiles, helping realize the "Internet of things" concept of extending Internet connectivity beyond computers and handsets. Freescale Semiconductor and NXP Semiconductors are the first two chipmakers to license the Cortex-M0+.

Freescale Semiconductor will begin offering its seventh Kinetis MCU family based on the ARM Cortex-M4 core. According to this report, the Kinetis K70 MCU family will include a floating point unit, tamper detection, graphic LCD capabilities and 1 MB of flash. Additionally, the company said the sixth Kinetis MCU family will begin sampling this month.